Updated : November 25th, 2015
H1B Visa 2016 Filing Season Complete, Cap reached on April 7th, 2015.
Planning for next H1B season, Check out H1B Visa 2017 FAQs
As many of you know, H1B Visa 2015 quota was over in the first week and a whopping 172,500 H1B petitions were received in first week by USCIS. H1B Lottery / random selection was held by USCIS to select 85,000 H1B petitions to fulfil the work permit cap. Many of the unlucky ones are already wondering about next year H1B Visa quota. Also, some of you are planning for H1B visa for next year, you also would be wondering regarding the same. This article addresses many of the common questions, it will be updated constantly, whenever any changes to info. Bookmark this page ! To start with, firstly the news updates on this season, followed by many commonly asked questions.
Official & Unofficial USCIS News Updates Regarding H1B 2016 Season
- November 25th, 2015 : There is no special news as such, but we have our readers reporting that their H1Bs are still being approved that were under regular processing. So, if your status is stuck at one status, there is still some hope…
- July 14th, 2015 : USCIS released a note saying that they have returned all the petitions that were not selected in lottery for FY 2016. If you do not hear back from USCIS by July 20th, then you can contact them. Check Press note
- May 4th, 2015 : Data Entry for Selected H1B Petitions Completed
- April 14th, 2015 : Premium Processing H1B 2016 starts from April 27th
- April 13th, 2015: USCIS receives 233,000 for FY 2016 Lottery complete.
- April 7th, 2015: H1B Cap Reached for FY 2016. Summary of USCIS News
- April 6th, 2015: Guidance to file Second Petition, if Delivery Service Errors
When will the H1B season for fiscal 2016 begin ?
USCIS will accept petitions for H1B Visa 2016 season starting from April 1st, 2015. USCIS did a press release on March 12th outlining the details. Read summary of press release by USCIS on H1B 2016 .
Will there be lottery again for H1B Visa 2016 ? Predictions ?
We had lottery for FY 2015 and FY 2014. The total number of petitions filed for FY 14 were about 125,000 and for FY 2015, there were about 172,500 petitions… As H1B Quota did not increase for FY 2016, and the demand does not seem to decrease, we would very likely have lottery for FY 2016. Read H1B Visa 2016 Lottery Predictions, Dates, Results
What is the H1B Visa quota Cap Count ? Would there be any changes to H1B 2016 count ?
H1B Visa quota cap count is the total number of petitions that USCIS will accept for a fiscal year to provide temporary work permit for highly skilled workers. For the 2016 fiscal year, the cap count is as below :
- Regular H1B Quota : 65,000
- H1B Masters Degree Quota ( only US Degrees) : 20,000
- Out of the above, a total of 6,800 is usually set aside for Singapore and Chile citizens as part of the free trade agreement between them.
As per the press release in March 2015, the quota did not increase. To give some background, as per the Obama executive action in Nov 2014, no changes were announced to the H1B Cap count. There was proposal in 2013 to increase H1B cap from 65,000 to 110,000 and Masters quota to increase from 20,000 to 25,000 did not go through as of March 2015. At least, for this FY 2016 season, the quota is fixed and it will be as above and no changes.
When should I start planning for H1B Visa 2016 ? What are the steps ?
It depends on your situation. Below are few scenarios and your plan.
- If you are a student on F1 Visa in USA, you need to plan for your internship/ CPT or OPT employment at a company that can sponsor your H1B Visa for FY 2016. In my view, you should start now to find something for the fall 2014 and continue that for next spring so that you can file for FY 2016
- If you are in other country and planning for H1B, it is good to start your process around the end of this year 2014. It will give you enough time to find sponsors, search for job, etc.
- If you are on H4, L1 or other visa in USA and planning for H1B for FY 2016, you also should consider looking around end of this year i.e. December 2014.
We have published step by step plan, you can read the article How to plan for H1B Visa 2016 ?Step by Step Guide
Most asked Question – How do I Find H1B Sponsors for FY 2016 ?
This is a million dollar question ! One of the biggest challenges is to find a good sponsor that can offer you a job and wait for you to start work after 6 months of filing your petition. You should review the detail article on How to find H1B Sponsors for FY 2015. Your first place of start is to find the H1B Sponsors in an area or by company. Use our H1B Visa Sponsors Database to search and filter. Read this article on details on how to search in our H1B Sponsor database. We keep the database updated as DOL publishes data. Do NOT share your email or phone number on our website as comments, there are many people do H1B Sponsorship fraud by requesting money using your contact info. RedBus2US.com never provides personal guidance on H1B sponsors or seeks money from anyone, we only display publicly available data on our H1B Sponsors Database page. We DO NOT sponsor H1Bs or guide anyone. Beware of H1B sponsorship Fraud !
What about Comprehensive Immigration Reform ( CIR) – H1B Visa Changes ? What are they ?
There have been some proposed changes to the H1B Visa program to cater to the demand in the US economy as part of the Comprehensive Immigration reform. Below are some of the proposed changes.
- H1B Cap to be increased from 65,000 to 110,000 per year. Also have provisions to have it up to 180,000 in case of extreme demand.
- Advanced degree from US cap quota to increase from 20,000 to 25,000
- The Filing fee for H1B could go up to 10,000 USD
- Additional H1B rules to avoid H1B Visa fraud by employers
- Mandatory LCA posting for 30 days before it is certified.
These were proposed in 2013, but nothing has moved significantly and all the above are just proposed rules. We are not sure when they will be implemented. You can read Summary of CIR – Immigration reform – H1B Visa and Green Card to get an idea. The latest update is that Obama has taken executive action on Immigration in Nov 2014 and none of the below are included as part of that. Stay tuned for updates.
H1B Visa 2016 Fees – Any changes ? How much does it cost ?
There are various components of the fee. The H1B Application filing fee could range anywhere from $1,600 USD to $4,400 depending on the size of the company. The attorney fee can range from $500 to $3000 depending on the attorney. If you apply for premium processing that is another $1,225. The fees has not changed in the past couple of years for FY 2014 and FY 2015. Unless USCIS revises fee based on immigration reform, it should be same. We will keep you all posted. For complete details of the fee by components and break up, read the article H1B Visa Fees and Who Pays for What ?
H4 Visa EAD rule impact on H1B Visa 2016 Season ?
As you know, certain H4 visa holders are now eligible for EAD. The H4 Visa EAD Rule Passed earlier in 2015 and is effective from May 26, 2015. USCIS will start accepting applications for EAD from those eligible H4 visa holders starting from May 26th. The question is that will that have an impact on number of H1B petitions for this fiscal year ? It very likely will have certain impact on the number of H1B applications that are filed for this year 2016 quota. Many of the H4 holders, who would now be eligible for EAD, may not apply for H1B visa, just because it gives them more flexibility to work and more choices to work as well. We would have to wait and see, how much of an impact that would have, but it is very straightforward and no brainer for eligible H4 visa holder to avoid the H1B processing.
H1B visa Premium Processing Changes to H1B Visa 2016 quota ?
USCIS updated in their press release that the premium processing will be accepted for FY 2016 quota and they will only begin that “no later than May 11, 2015”. What it means for the petitioners is that the official 15 day premium processing clock starts from May 11th, 2015 and their petition could be adjudicated within 15 days from May 11th, which would be May 26th, 2015. USCIS can process them earlier as well, but their new timeline is just indication for setting the right expectations to meet the stipulated time frame for premium processing.
Track H1B Visa 2016 Cap Count updates ?
As in previous years, we have created a page, where would track the cap count updates for FY 2016. You may check out H1B visa 2016 Cap Count Tracker.
While you wait, you can check out April 1st – USCIS H1B Visa 2016 Season Starts Today, When to expect Lottery ?
H1B Lottery Completed – Official Tweet and Press Release
USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016 http://t.co/fQ6EPUb8Y4
— USCIS (@USCIS) April 13, 2015
H1B Cap Reached – Official USCIS Tweet and Link to Press release :
We have reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for FY 2016 http://t.co/RTja7POWYY — USCIS (@USCIS) April 7, 2015
Any other questions ?
God. Please give me good news soon. I have a genuine job from a top company in USA.
I checked with my consultant today and so far he received 5 receipts for AD/RP/VT and 1 for non ad/RP/vt. All received last week. Nothing this week yet and it’s friday already? Still waiting for mine.
Receipt received by employer for my Wife’s Visa
NonAd/RP/VT — Received yesterday ( today he told me unofficially ) — Official email shall come in next week’s start from HR Manager
Receipt number will be known in next week to us
Thanks all for your wishes
Thanks almighty to make it a reality !!!
All the best for those who are waiting — God will hear your prayers too.
Still Thousands of receipts to come ( being sent in transit / mail as of now )
TCS’ers..
I dont see even a single +ve response from any of our tcs family members..
Are we totally ruled out from the com(petition) process..??
I am so scared with the result and i was not like this kinda scary even for my board exam results..!!
This lottery process really screws my happiness…
(Iyyappa.. Plss save me..)
wHOEVER didn’t get receipt so far don’t worry and don’t lose hope (like people on this board say who got the receipt nbrs), you have next year because all over for this year.
Trying my luck!!!!!
Got my receipt notice today, sent to my employer. Check was cashed on 04/27/15, non-AD/RP.
WHICH CENTER ?
CA
Anyone from Google still waiting? Anyone from other companies who use BAL heard anything?
How many rounds to get into Google, I am eager to find a job in Google. I am a developer but whole life full of Microsoft products, any chance to get inside Google?
1 phone interview from recruit,
2 phone technical interviews,
5 onsite technical interview.
It’s rather hard to get to google having graduated the university long ago, because they expect you to have great experience and knowledge.
If you are interested, there’s lots of info on youtube, quora and google 🙂
As yoyo said, if you’re a recent graduate, then you just need to be very good with algorithms to pass the interviews. If you’re an experienced developer, they expect you to have had an upward career trajectory, so unless you’ve been able to work for companies where you’ve had opportunities to work on hard problems (complex distributed systems, compilers, operating systems, machine learning etc.) you’re typically out of luck.
nonAD/PP, using BAL, from google.
No update in cobalt or by email. And I haven’t seen any person who got any update from BAL on this forum. Strange.
Hey, what office are you going?
Going to the NYC office.
I am Still waiting for the lottery result. What are the chances for AD/RP/VT? Is it over or we still have hopes
Same situation bro. No update. Hope we will get it
Most of them are saying their is still time for RP. Next week might be last chance
I m waiting ad/pp/vt
AD/RP/VSC. Still waiting. Are there any chances Still.
One of my co workers just got his receipt yesterday. AD/RP/VT.
I am still waiting for me..
Hope. This name is lucky for me too.
Hello,
Can any1 please tell me is it possible that DHS clear I-129 Cheque for $325 but doesnt encash the other 2 cheques ?
Or i should assume if cheque for $325 is encashed ,rest all has to be encashed ?
If i am selected in lottery ,do all the cheques gets encashed at once ?
Bro they gave you discount! Did you bargain?
Hope this name works for me also. Waiting for good news!!!
Hi Just heard from my employer
*****************************************
We have been receiving receipts for applications filed without Premium Processing since last week. Receipts for cases filed with PP service on 4/1 are also still trickling in. We will just have to continue to wait.
**************************************************
Is this a template answer of saying u r fuc*** up this year
Wooooooooooohoooo! Heard the good news! Non AD/VT/RP
This is my first time and the wait is over! This name worked for me..
I came down to US on h4 as my wife got h1 visa and our employer verbally agreed to sponsor my h1 as well. They did let me down, didn’t sponsor for some reason. .I had to wait for 2 years to find a sponsor having tow degrees, 2 professional qualifications and genuine 10 + years work experience.Many job offers were out there, many wanted to recruit me,but no one needed to go through the visa hassle.
I kept praying and here my wish accomplished!
All the best folks! keep praying!Pray hard!
By the way, I’m not from India
congrats 🙂
i m also trying my luck with this name
non ad/rp/vermont
All the best buddy! Pray hard!
This morning of Friday I sent an email to my lawyer to know if the check was cashed or if he has any news. Until 6:00pm I have not received any email from the lawyer. This is my 2nd year of my single petition. It is truly unfair to be unlucky all the time, isn’t it??
Anyone waiting for NON-AD/PP/CA?
I called school and USCIS..both said my SEVIS is active…I’m in OPT right now..does this mean I’m not selected into lottery?
:'( :'(
I don’t know about the sevis thing but I am also non-AD PP CA -Fragomen
Waiting….. But I think there is no hope left now :/
Picked up in lottery ! Employer informed me today..yet to receive receipt number. Non AD/RP/VT. HAVE FAITH !
Please try donating some of you money in the aid of nepal earthquake victims through legitimate charities or channels. I did. May be it will help me get my visa.
Thanks for donating! May god bless you and fulfill your dream! Praise the lord and believe in him. With faith, you can even move mountains! I am also waiting for my receipt, but deep inside, I truly know that I have already made it. Amen!
Got picked in lottery. Got the email today. Gob bless all of you.
ANYONE FROM VT- AD/PP
Receipts EAC* – Got their approvals ?
How many approvals and how many waiting
Still waiting for approval. Mine is EAC VT
Premium or regular
I need to see, how fast are all the premium getting processed or still folks from premium waiting for approvals??
premium with receipt date April 20. What date is your receipt?
APRIL 20 Should be by next week.
All premium processing folks selected in lottery update your approvals !
Can I still work untill I get my package back even thou my OPT expires? my opt expires 6/30/2015
Receipt notice on April 20 but no approval notice yet. Anyone receive receipt on April 20 with no approval yet
Any body from AD/RP got their approval? Or any status updates while tracking the progress ? I have 17th april on my receipt notice…
I am waiting for approval.April 21st is my receipt date
Waiting for approval too. Receipt date April 20
ANY HOPES FOR AD/NP OR AD/RP?
I am still waiting !!
Anybody on CPT got an RFE?
Did u do cpt from day 1
Will you get rfe for CPT on day 1? I did cpt fro day 7
What university did you go to? Part time or full time?
Case was approved today. I received the receipt on April 20.
Guys, what’s happening with Non AD/RP/CA applications? Can anyone share some info on this, please? Is CA center really slow with Non AD/RP applications this year or is game over?
Why don’t they just make the whole process online. Lawyers/Companies can just file online, get an application number straight away and then when the lottery runs, everybody can know in one go whether they are at least selected in the lottery or not. It’ll make the process so much transparent and the wait so much easier for everybody!!! … This wait is just killing me!
True that …
Hi guys,
First of all my hearty congratulation for all those who got selected in the lottery.
Guys who got multiple application selected , you really spoiled the chance of other people.
My humble request for those unlucky guys like me, who will apply for next year , please don’t apply multiple application as it will definitely screw up other people life.
Let’s Be strong, Be honest and Be +ve.
Thanks!!!
I feel the same. But, you cannot say multiple filing is illegal as long as it’s not in the rules. Do you think Indian big consultancy giants have that many onsite jobs at the client locations for them to apply so many H1b petitions ? Do you think they send all of the approved H1b applicants onsite on October 1st ?
You are playing gambling here.. so nothing is honest !
P.S. I’m an AD/PP.. one application.. got picked.. but I had my heart in my mouth till I got the receipt. I had a valid full time job from an american client(no consultancy).
Yes, they really do have many opportunities/clients/projects. There are no travel ready resource held back at offshore unless it is a personal decision. In my current project, we needed 3 onsite resources last year. We have a 15 member offshore team and none of them have visas. Applied for 3 last year and none got through. We had to take some consultants (all from the fake state of India) from a Desi concern, and they ended up being worse than a fresher.
Has anybody got the checks cashed on weekend?
Thank God.. I got my approval mail today. Mine is Non AD/PP/VT.
When did you receive your receipt? I am also waiting for my approval.
I got mine on april 21
I got notice on April 20 and it was approved on May 1st
Lets count here. How many AD- PP/RP are waiting for receipts?
still waiting
+1
Still waiting..I don’t see many receipt for CS center over here. Does that mean dere is still hope.
I am too..
+1
Friends,
Cheque encashed today 🙂 Good luck to all those who are waiting. This is my 2nd time lottery. Mine is non ad/rp.
Hi Vijay where is your service center? Tks!
It must be CA…
Any hope for AD/PP. HR checked the check yesterday, not been cashed……stressful.
+1 , seems very slim chance now .. no hope after last week
How long does the receipt take to arrive once the cheque is encashed ?
1 week as comes by mail not email for RP
I have received receipt notice but no approval notice yet and the receipt numbers before and after mine are approved on the uscis website except mine. Mine still states that “we have sent receipt on 20th…. e.t.c” I checked myvisajobs.com and it shows that my H1B is certified (The company I worked for filed for only me in the department so I was able to know it’s me on myvisajobs.com). Does that mean I have been approved but uscis has not updated the system? What do you guys think?
myvisajobs.com are you looking for year 2014 or 2015 ?
2015
What you see is in myvisajobs is the LCA, which is the preliminary step even before your H1 petition is sent to USCIS. An approved LCA is required to make an H1 application, but does not mean the H1 itself is approved.
Based on the Immigration Girl Blog last year’t timeline:
I double checked, and last year, we started getting our first non-premium processing receipts on April 21st, but most of them did not come until early May. USCIS will likely make an announcement when all data entry is complete and that they will begin sending the rejected petitions back in the mail. When this occurred last year, we continued to receive receipt notices in the mail for about one week. Then between May 13th and June 1st we did not receive anything. Starting June 2nd, we began receiving the rejected petitions back in the mail and did not receive any further receipts after that time. It took all the way to June 27th for us to receive all the rejected petitions back in the mail.
That means this year too we can expect more RP receipts from both the centers atleast till May 10-15.
Lets hope thats true
GUYS. today is the day.. I got mine too.. PP NON AD
Congratulations! Did you cheque encashed before and today you received the receipt or it happened today only?
TODAY IT DEDUCTED FROM employer account, Lawyer emailed me 30 mins ago.
PP today??? This gives me hope.. Please tell exactly if it was premium or Regular
Yes . PP.. NON AD… I almost started for Plan B then received good news..
What would have been plan B?
My plan B is to marry a black girl!
Did your Hr got receipt in email?
as said.. No recipet yet but amount has been deducted as of 1 PM ET.
attorney saying to receive receipet by EOD today.
Thanks Bro
Just now checked with my HR, They have not received reciept it seems.Attorney not sharing any thing at this moment. Completely stressed. BTW mine is PP/Non AD/california.
Looks like California game is already over.
What was the date on your receipt?
Wac -15-??? What are the next three digits after 15 (in place of those question marks)???
Non-AD /PP /CA – Fragomen
Waiting 🙁
Cheque cashed today, RP VT
are you AD?
No. NON AD.. RP
Congrats!
you gave us hope
I am anticipating nonAD/RP/VT, Wish me all the best too!!
So there still a hope ?
TCS’ers..
I dont see even a single +ve response from any of our tcs family members..
Are we totally ruled out from the com(petition) process..??
I am so scared with the result and i was not like this even for my board exam results..!!
This lottery process really sucks..
Not sure about TCS,but in IBM even if the employer would receive hard mail from USCIS on may 1st..IBM would take around 10days to send out notification to selected Employees.i am from Ibm Pune..NONAD/RP..ONE more thing can we check which center was our application filed at?cali,vert?
Just got the news Cheque are casched today for RP ….RP VT
are you advanced degree ?
NO..non ad
Congrats!
you gave us hope
I am anticipating nonAD/RP/VT, Wish me all the best too!!
BEST OF LUCK.. One application for me and my spouse.. Both got picked up…
still there is any hope? Last year also did not get picked up.
This freaking lottery is ruining my career. Already moved back to India last year because that was my last chance to apply. Fortunately Employer allowed me to work from home.
This year again applied. Still no update.
I don’t think all of the receipt have been generated. If you dont get anything by end next week then chances are dull.
I just checked last year facts, USCIS finished data entry by May 2, 2014 that means if you are picked either you notified by email-PP and check encashed or sevis update for AD & non-AD folks, so due to lottery was done one week later than last week so I will assume by May 7th, 2015 USCIS will complete the data entry. Thereafter USCIS starts return packages to lawyers.. By the way I am a 2nd time unlucky guy, working hard on CPT. however good luck to all folks…
Same here, I am a second time applicant. Looks like I did not get through as well. I could never bank on probability to define my success. I am completely helpless, I know it would be just as hard to get a job back in India. 🙁 I have to deal with nepotism, politics etc…
I must say one good aspect of american work culture is the absence of mud slinging and finger pointing… which makes this place simply awesome to work
Hello,
Can any 1 tel me how much is amount encashed for H1 B ?
mY EMPLOYER says 3 cheques were sent to DHS ..so all 3 should be encashed or any 1 of those ?
also if u guys can tel me the amount it would be great
I think the total of the 3 checks are $1,560. All 3 should should be cashed at the same time.
Do u know the split up ?
Sorry, the total of the 3 checks is $1,575. They are $750, $325, $500.
Sorry, the total of the 3 checks is $1,575. $750, $325, $500.
I donot know exact number of cheques , but yes 3 sound ok as per my knowledge
325 + 500 +1500 ( or 750) = 2325 or 1575
325: base filing fee
500: Fraud detection Prevention fee ( FDP)
1500 or 750 is : another fee
( 1500/ 750 : depends upon no. of employees i.e. I think 750 is total number of employees is less than 25 in that company or 1500 : if total strength is more than 25)
Day By Day the chances of getting the receipt is slim..With 233000 app, it was 35% chances with 3 weeks gone now and already many people have got receipts, it is between 1 – 10% chance or no chance..
Checks are still cashing today and for the rest of the week i guess for RP so nothing lost
you gave us hope– by iterating that cheques getting cashed
I am anticipating nonAD/RP/VT, Wish me all the best too!!
Hi I had applied h1 regular processing non adv degree from India. Can you please let me know if there is still hope to pick n lottery
Recepit notice has wrong name.. a letter is wrong..
Why are few people saying AD/PP’s still have hope? Don’t know hat to believe what not to? Do we guys really have hope or we start executing our 2nd plan.. 🙁 please help.. :'(
they are lying, I just checked last year facts, USCIS finished data entry by May 2, 2014 that means if you are picked either you notified by email-PP and check encashed or sevis update for AD & non-AD folks, so due to lottery was done one week later than last week so I will assume by May 7th, 2015 USCIS will complete the data entry. Thereafter USCIS starts return packages to lawyers.. By the way I am a 2nd time unlucky guy, working hard on CPT. however good luck to all folks…
So does it mean we have hopes till May 7th 2015?
USCIS announced 4/27 as the starting date for PP. So if no email by that date, no hope for PP submissions. (There can be a delay in the lawyer’s relaying the news, though.)
So no hopes after this huh?
Guys, Is there still hope for non-AD/RP/WAC, ? .. are they still gererating receipt numbers
*generating
Whoever gets the receipt don’t say don’t lose hope still there is time and keep waiting..Get Lost..
Same here, Construction Manager, our cheques were cleared today May 1, 2015 by HS. We are in the same boat with dependents in first time application.. California Service Center.
God is good all the time. Lets pray for everybody!
How long will it take to get the receipt once cheque encashed?